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A district court in Nagpur has upheld the eviction proceedings initiated by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation over a prime 15,000 sq m land parcel located on Subhash Road near Agyaram Devi Square, dismissing multiple civil appeals filed against the civic body’s notices. The disputed land had originally been leased to Abhyankar Smarak Trust in 1937 for charitable purposes, but the lease expired in 1967 and was not renewed thereafter. According to the court order, portions of the land were subsequently sublet to commercial establishments without municipal approval. The ruling clears the way for the civic authority to proceed with repossession of the site for a proposed public development project and reinforces municipal powers relating to occupation of public land after expiry of lease agreements.
A district court in Nagpur has ruled in favour of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation in a long-running dispute concerning eviction proceedings on a prime land parcel located on Subhash Road near Agyaram Devi Square. The order, delivered in the past week by District Judge-6 MS Ganorkar, dismissed a batch of eight miscellaneous civil appeals challenging eviction notices issued by the civic authority under Section 81-B of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 1949. Advertisement
The disputed property measures nearly 15,000 sq m and had originally been leased to Abhyankar Smarak Trust in 1937 for charitable activities. According to the court order, the lease expired in November 1967 and was never renewed thereafter. Despite expiry of the lease term, the trust allegedly continued occupying the land and subsequently sublet portions of the property to various commercial establishments without obtaining approval from the municipal corporation.
The appeals were filed by multiple occupants and entities operating from the site, including local businesses and educational establishments, which argued that they possessed tenancy rights through the trust and challenged the legality of the eviction action initiated by the civic body. However, the court observed that once the original lease had expired and was not renewed, the trust no longer retained legal rights over the property, rendering subsequent occupation and tenancy claims unsustainable.
The court further noted that even the nominal annual lease rent of Re 1 had not been paid after expiry of the agreement, strengthening the civic body’s claim of unauthorised occupation. The judgment stated that the municipal corporation had followed due legal procedure while initiating eviction proceedings and had provided adequate opportunity for hearings before issuing notices to the occupants.
According to the ruling, portions of the land had gradually been converted into commercial usage, including automobile-related establishments, retail operations and other businesses, despite the original lease being granted for charitable purposes. The court held that such unauthorised subletting and commercial activity could not confer permanent rights over municipal land once the lease period had lapsed.
The judgment clears the way for the civic authority to proceed with repossession of the property, which is expected to be utilised for a public development project planned by the municipal corporation. While specific project details were not disclosed in the order, the ruling is expected to strengthen the corporation’s position in similar cases involving expired municipal leases and encroachments on publicly owned urban land parcels.
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